Kei Nishikori still believes he has the ability to compete alongside the world’s best tennis players at the age of 35 after what has been a dream start to 2025.
The former US Open runner-up is through to his first ATP Final in six years at the Hong Kong Open, which awarded him a wild card into the main draw. In his semi-final encounter, Nishikori was leading Juncheng Shang 4-3 before the Chinese player retired due to illness. His latest victory follows a trio of impressive wins over Denis Shapalov, World No.19 Karen Khachanov and Cameron Norrie earlier in the week.
Nishikori’s run has guaranteed his return to the world’s top 100 on Monday for the first time since June 2022. He is projected to rise to at least 74th and will rise further if he lifts the title on Sunday.
“I’m very happy. This is a very good gift for me to have the final, I’ll do my best,” Nishikori said after beating Shang.
“I feel close to my best. I don’t know about Top 5. With Sinner and (Carlos) Alcaraz it’s a little different, but I feel almost there. Physically I’m strong. It’s a great sign I’ve been beating top players here like Karen (Khachanov) and (Cameron) Norrie.
“Yeah, I didn’t expect to be in the final at the beginning of the year, but I’ve been playing well. It’s a shame that he (Shang) wasn’t feeling well, he still played pretty good! I hope he recovers well for Australian Open.”
It isn’t just Nishikori who is confident about his abilities on the Tour, his coach Thomas Johansson also believes the skies are the limit. The two spent 10 days together in America training during the off-season.
“I would say he can take down anyone on any given day,” Johansson told reporters.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with him from the first day, he’s so eager to listen, even though he’s been No.4 in the world, into a Slam final, best Asian player ever, and one of the best players ever in our sport,” Johansson told the Hong Kong Open.
“I’m impressed by him every single day, he’s so professional, he’s still so eager to improve.”
The resurgence of the former world No.4 comes after a frustrating past few years. His career has been affected by injury setbacks and in 2022 he underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery. He didn’t play any Tour events in 2022 and didn’t return to competitive tennis until midway through the 2023 season. This time last year he was ranked 352nd in the world.
“He’s been very unfortunate with injuries, so I always say that tennis is the smallest problem we have, it’s his body,” Johansson commented.
“When we started in Miami (2024) I would say he was not ready, he was not 100 percent, maybe he was 70, but at the same time I wanted him to go play and see how the body would react as well.
“Finally, now he feels a lot stronger and you can also see that the body is a lot more solid than before.”
Awaiting Nishikori in the final will be France’s Alexandre Müller, who is currently at a ranking-high of 67th in the world. The 27-year-old bounced back from a set down to beat Jaume Munar 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. It is only the second time he has reached a title match on the AT Tour after the 2023 Marrakech Open. Muller’s route to the final has also seen him save two match points against Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round before going on to beat fourth seed Arthur Fils.
“I think everybody knows how amazing Nishikori is as a player. For sure, it’s going to be a great battle and I hope I can take home the title. It would be a big achievement,” the Frenchman commented.
Nishikori is bidding to win his first title since the 2019 Brisbane International.
